LINDSEY BOERMA
Living Editor
When encountered with the statement, “Even if we never see him again, it’s at least been a great experience,” Pepperdine campus minister candidate Thomas Fitzpatrick quickly countered, “Likewise.”
This witty but appropriate response, emitting chuckles from the audience at a Sunday night question and answer session, was just a foreshadowing of Fitzpatrick’s well-received style of ministry.
Fitzpatrick, hailing from Albuquerque, N.M., is one of two potential campus ministers that will be visiting Pepperdine in the next few weeks.
Heather Scott, a student representative of the committee in charge of
choosing the new campus minister, said, “We’re looking for a strong Christian leader who would be able to inspire
students to deepen faith and build community, who is good at preaching and who has a passion for what they do.”
Passion is one of Fitzpatrick’s most evident qualities.
Linda Truschke, current Pepperdine campus minister who would be working alongside Fitzpatrick, said: “He’s obviously passionate for Jesus and for sharing that passion with others, and he can preach.”
Scott agreed.
“Thomas is just on fire about campus ministry,” she said. “He’s a true man of God and his heart is in the right place.”
Fitzpatrick’s passion and enthusiasm was apparent in his message at the Sunday night worship service, at which the topic for his sermon was “Dancing for the Lord.”
Yet, perhaps the most beneficial aspect of Fitzpatrick in regards to the Pepperdine community is his evangelistic point of view.
Fitzpatrick had no religious background until his junior year of high school, when his abuse of drugs and alcohol caused him to hit rock bottom. It was then that his future wife, Rebecca, invited him to church for the first time.
The next year, Fitzpatrick gave his life to Christ.
He and Rebecca attended the University of New Mexico, where Fitzpatrick claims that he experienced “a God series of events that opened my heart to ministry.”
His senior year of college, Fitzpatrick was asked to become the director of the Christian Student Center at UNM, where he remains today.
“I’m a byproduct of evangelism,” Fitzpatrick said. “I never lose my hope for nonbelievers because I know what it’s like to be one.”
Caitlin Lawrence, a junior organizational communications major with an emphasis in vocational ministry, agreed that evangelism was something that Fitzpatrick could bring to Pepperdine.
“Right now, Campus Ministries is pretty isolated as far as interacting with people who aren’t Christian,” she said. “I think he could break down those barriers and get outside that clique and be real with people. He seems like the kind of guy who would eat meals with students in the Caf and have people over to his home. He’d be a friend first and a minister second,” Lawrence said.
Fitzpatrick’s call to ministry, however, is not second in terms of priority.
“What excites me about Pepperdine is that it’s got the best of both worlds,” Fitzpatrick said. “At UNM, we are trying to reach everyone, but here, there are already strong Christian leaders who can help the nonbelievers, and my job would be to get those people to step up. I want the whole school to see us praying for them.”
“Also, I want to find out how we, as college kids, can serve the church,” he said. “I want an intricate connection—seamless, even— between campus ministries and the church, because we can be the heart and soul of that church.”
Fitzpatrick’s desire to lead Pepperdine students to Christ is accompanied by a simple plan— to model himself after Jesus.
“There was something about Jesus that naturally drew people to him,” he said. “We want to do that, and the best way is to be like Jesus.
“We want to make campus ministries sound like just a fun place to be,” he continued. “A very real problem is students who feel forced into it, and that’s not what we want. I just hope students are overwhelmed by what God can do in this place.”
Fitzpatrick’s wife, Rebecca, would also be a part of the campus ministry.
“I want to be as involved as possible because I love to work with college students,” she said. “Whether it be dinner at our house, activities, class or care group— we’ll just have to see.”
Regardless of whether Fitzpatrick is chosen as Pepperdine’s new campus minister, his fervent beliefs and passion for ministry will certainly make an impact wherever he ends up.
“I think he’d be great as campus minister, but now we’ve got another guy coming in a few weeks who we have to give a fair view to,” Truschke said. “But whether it’s here or somewhere else, he’s going to do great things.”
02-01-2007